Throughout the United States, many people and organizations have worked to promote motor vehicle occupant protection for children, youth, and young adults. In spite of the great strides made, thousands of young people, from newborns through age 20, continue to die or experience serious injuries that could have been prevented had they been properly restrained in a child safety seat, booster seat, or safety belt. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has developed this booklet to provide information supporting the ongoing need for legislative, enforcement, education, and public awareness activities promoting occupant protection for children, youth, and young adults. Collectively, this information illustrates the national imperative for addressing motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death and injury for children and youth in the United States. As a resource for occupant protection advocates, this booklet focuses on passenger vehicles. The majority of data in this fact book are from 2003, which was the most recent year data was available at press time, and are generated from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the General Estimates System (GES) produced by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis at NHTSA. (Author/publisher)
Abstract